Oh Baby
by Tsubaki-San
Summary: It takes a village to raise a child... So why not a guild? When a baby is discovered at Fairy Tail's doorstep Fairy Tail decides to take it under their wing! What could go wrong when Fairy Tail's best is watching it? Only everything. Multiple Pairings
1. The Deliverance

**My first Fairy Tail story. I don't own Fairy Tail. This is set after the timeskip but before the current arc with the magic games. I hope you like it! Oh also there's going to be multiple pairings in the story so you may not like all of them but I may have a vote on some...**

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><p>Lucy sighed and laid her chin on the palms of her hands. It was another typical day, well night actually, at Fairy Tail. Natsu and Gray fight, Erza stops them, they start speaking like Happy, Erza turns away and the cycle restarts. The usual. She couldn't put her finger on it but she sort of felt like something was going to happen, she brushed it off because it's Fairy Tail and something is always happening, even after seven years of absence.<p>

"Lu-chan!" Levy sang, skipping across the room to meet her friend. "I got that new book we've been wanting to read!" Levy thrust the book in Lucy's face. Lucy stared at it for a moment before grinning.

"That's awesome!" She squealed, admiring the book. "You'll have to loan it to me!" She closed her eyes and thought about the plot line. It was a about a girl who was contemplating suicide but met her true love and ran into an old enemy. Cliché? Maybe a little. Worth checking out? Yes.

"I don't get it." Gajeel mumbled, a few tables over to Pantherlily. "What's so great about some soppy romance novel that's worth squealing like a dolphin or something?"

"Don't look at me." Pantherlily shrugged, "They're full of estrogen and who knows what else. It's something girls do, I suppose."

"Well it's-" Gajeel was interrupted by Natsu flying into his table and knocking his glass over. Gajeel stared at his glass before picking Natsu up by his scarf. "Watch it!" He growled, throwing Natsu out the doors rather comically.

"HEY!" Natsu exclaimed from the entrance, "What-!" There was a pause. "What?" He repeated, only this time it was more confused and not as loud.

"What's wrong, flame brain?" Gray asked, going over to see what was so important as to interrupt their fight. "What's something like that doing here?" He exclaimed, causing everybody's interest to go to him and Natsu who were standing over what looked like a package. Soon a large crowd had gathered to see what Natsu and Gray were staring at.

Lucy, Erza, Wendy and Happy managed to push themselves to the front where they saw Natsu and Gray fighting over a bundle of blankets.

"Let me see it!"

"I found it!"

"So? You'll probably hurt it!"

"Let go!"

"No you!"

"GAH!" They exclaimed as the blankets flew out of their hands and flew into the sky. Everybody watched it's flight, as it flew high into the air.

"CATCH IT!" Gray yelled in distress. Juvia was the first one to leap for it. If she caught it, maybe she could catch Gray's eye.

"Juvia has it!" She exclaimed, liquefying herself and shooting herself up in the air. She wrapped herself around the bundle as she landed lithely on the ground, no longer water. "Gray-sama! Juvia caught it!" Juvia cheered and hoped for some of Gray's attention. She peered at the blankets wondering what could be so important when she gasped.

"WAHHHHHH!" A cry rang out from the blankets, causing all the Fairy Tail members to stop in shock. It couldn't be...

"A baby?" Lucy whispered as she and the rest of Team Natsu ran over to Juvia.

Sure enough in Juvia's arms was an infant with a a tuft of light brown hair, screaming it's lungs out. Before anybody could do anything Makarov shoved his way through the crowd using his magic, and stopped when he saw the child.

"What the Hell is that doing here?" He questioned, he glanced at Natsu and Gray who were standing by Juvia's side, examining the baby intently. "You two didn't kidnap it by accident or anything, right?" He asked, suspiciously. The last thing he needed was for word to get out that Fairy Tail kidnapped children. The Magic Council would have his head.

"No!" The two cried indignantly.

"Hmm. Juvia, if I may." He held out his hands and the water mage gently set down the child in his arms. The guild followed him inside where he went to the center of the room and set the bundle of blankets down and unwrapped it, leaving the child only in its diaper. Attached to the diaper was a note.

"To the Master of Fairy Tail..." Makarov read out loud, as he unfolded the note. He read it silently first before he started reading it to the whole guild. "Please watch after my child. I have spotted signs of magic and I don't want my baby growing up in an orphanage where it will not learn to use it's magic. Signed M. B."

For once the guild was silent.

"Cool!" Natsu exclaimed, fist pumping. He walked over and picked the child up. "Can we keep it?" He asked Makarov as if it were a puppy.

"Well... It takes a village to raise a child... Why not a guild?" He said staring at the baby. He wondered if he'd need to fill out any paperwork... He hoped not.

"Cool! I'm gonna show Igneel around the guild!" He said, picking the baby up.

"HEY!" Lucy yelled angrily. "You can't name it that! You don't even know what gender it is!"

"Geez, sorry!" He looked at Lucy with hope. "If it is a boy can we name it Igneel?"

"_NO!_" The entire guild answered him causing him to sulk in a corner.

The baby started crying again causing Natsu to throw it in Lucy's arms. "What did I do?" He cried in horror.

"Nothing..." Lucy said softly. She wrinkled her nose and put the baby back on the table where the entire guild stared at it. "I think it's time to find out what gender you are..." She hastily took a step back. "Somebody needs to change the baby's diaper!" She announced, causing everybody to stumble back a few steps.

"What about Bisca or Alzack? They must've had to change Asuka's diapers, right?" Erza suggested.

"They left on a mission yesterday, they'll be gone for a week or two. Asuka's with a babysitter." Levy said, biting her lip while staring at the child. It smelled pretty bad.

Makarov stepped up. "I know just how to solve this!"

**Continued in Chapter 2... **

**There is a poll on my profile page about the gender of the child! **


	2. Baby Care

**Yay Chapter 2! And the results are... You have to find out! **

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><p>Gajeel grimaced as he faced his opponent, ready to strike. It was the last round and he couldn't afford to lose. He'd already lost Mirajane, Jet, Erza, Cana, Gray, and even Happy.<p>

"Whenever you're ready." His opponent challenged, her brown eyes sparkling with determination.

"I am."

"Ok then... On the count of three." She motioned for somebody to count down for them.

"One." Erza said in a serious tone.

"Two." Charle counted watching with slight interest.

"Three!" Natsu roared.

"ROCK! PAPER! SCISSORS! SHOOT!" Gajeel and Lucy yelled, throwing their fists out high into the air.

"YES!" Lucy cried, as she held her fist in the air.

"DAMMIT!" Gajeel roared. He knew he shouldn't have picked scissors! He scowled at his unlucky fist. Why couldn't it have been a huge all out brawl? He would've done way better in that.

"Yes!" Lucy cheered again, running over to everybody who'd been spared and hugged Levy. "That was so close! And to think I almost picked paper!" She shuddered. The contest had only taken about ten minutes and now it was time for the moment of truth. Makarov held the baby out to Gajeel who unwillingly took it using his forefinger and thumb to grab it's diaper.

"Ugh..." He was cursing his inhuman sense of smell. "Whad do I do wif it?" He asked, sounding odd due to the fact he was pinching his nose.

"Here." Fried solemnly held out a pack of diapers and wipes that him, Evergreen, and Bixlow ran to the store to get (so they didn't have to be in the competition).

"Hmph." He grabbed them and threw them violently next to the child who was looking at Gajeel, frozen with fear at the scary dragonslayer. Gajeel looked blankly at the child before trying to undo the diaper. "...Dammit..." He grumbled while trying to figure it out. The rest of the guild was filled with hushed whispers as they watched.

"Oh God!" Gajeel exclaimed as he finally got the diaper off... Actually, no, he practically ripped it off causing it to fly through the air and land on Bixlow's visor causing him to yell in surprise and disgust as he tried getting it off his visor without touching it all while his dolls flew through the air squealing and yelling out swear words.

The baby looked at Gajeel and giggled at the sudden chaos.

"Real damn funny kid." Gajeel growled as he stumbled his way through instructions on the back of the diaper package.

"Gajeel! What gender is it?" Cana asked, annoyed. Nobody but Gajeel could tell because as soon as Bixlow was hit everybody scooted to one corner of the guild far away from Bixlow and Gajeel.

"Boy." He muttered and held the child up, revealing a newly-changed smiling baby boy. "Take it!" He said to Wendy and somewhat gently handed/tossed the boy to Wendy. He then ran to the bathroom as fast as he could to thoroughly wash his hands, Bixlow was already in there, probably washing his helmet.

"Aww." Wendy cooed. "We should name him..." Wrong question. Immediately everybody was in an argument about names.

"IGNEEL! IGNEEL!"

"Shut up Natsu! He should obviously be call Quentin."

"What kind of shit name is that?"

"Excuse me? It's a great name!"

"Gale! Nalu! Gruvia! Everelf! Bixanna! Jerza!"

"Mirajane, what kind of names are those?"

"Something very manly!"

"WAIT!" Natsu roared, capturing everyone's attention. "Let's combine all our names!" He thought for a moment. "Nagruvicydret- Mixlielfiedy-Cacaobeowenus!"

"NO." The whole guild shot him down. They were not trying to ruin the kid's life.

"Yōsei." Levy said quietly. "It means fairy."

Everybody stopped and stared at the bookworm. "Yōsei Mitsu."

"Okay any more suggestions?" Makarov asked before anybody could contribute anymore idiotic names. Everybody shook their head. "Let's take a vote then."

"Any of Natsu's names?"

"NO."

"Darn it!"

"Any Mirajane's?" Only a few people raised their hands.

"Quentin?" More hands this time.

"Yōsei Mitsu?" Almost the whole guild raised their hands.

"It's decided then! His name is Yōsei Mitsu."

"What should his last name be?"

"We'll figure that out later." Makarov announced. "What we really need is a schedule."

"Huh?" Most of the guild asked, not really to his surprise.

"You really think Yōsei can take care of himself?" He chuckled. "I'll leave you guys to settle this one out." He walked to his office to research if he needed to fill out any paper work.

"Now what?" Warren asked, looking confused.

"I know!" Mirajane suddenly exclaimed, a gleam in her eyes that told the guild she had a devious plan. "Why don't we have partners to take care of him every day!"

"Well-"

"Great! It's decided!" Mirajane clapped her hands and grinned. Everybody glanced at each other in fear and interest. Mirajane's plans could be brilliant or... dangerous. "I'll start pairing up the couples, er, partners!"

"Don't we also need, like, baby stuff?" Romeo asked, staring at Yōsei. Everybody looked at him, it was true. They had nothing for the child but a pack of diapers, some wipes, and a blanket. Not even a jumper or pajamas.

"Well how about we send a few people, then?" Erza suggested.

**... **

"How did I end up here?" Gray asked the next day as he, Juvia, Laxus, Natsu, Happy, and Cana stood outside Magnolia's residence baby store, The Stork Store.

"Mirajane 'asked' us to go." Laxus reminded him, almost shuddering at the memory of her intense glare when he refused.

"Hmph. Rhetorical question." He muttered, glancing at Juvia who was fussing over Yōsei who had spent the night being watched over in Fairy Hills during a giant sleepover. Luckiest kid ever according to most of the (male) guild members. Mirajane had suggested that they take the child with them so they could try baby clothes on him.

"Let's just get this over with!" Cana said irritably pushing the doors open to reveal a world full of screaming babies and tired parents. Downright terrifying.

"Uh... Juvia do you have the list?" The whole guild had put together a list of things they should get. Clothes, bottles, formula, ect.

"Yes, Juvia has it right here Gray-sama." Juvia said, handing it to him, almost fainting when their hands touched during the exchange.

"Er, anyway..." Gray said as he glanced at the swooning water mage. "Laxus and Cana you go get this stuff..." He ripped the list in half and handed it to Cana. "Juvia and I will get the other stuff." He glanced at Natsu and Happy. "You guys... Just don't do anything dumb."

"Hey!" They yelled.

"I'll fight you right here and now!" Natsu roared angrily.

"Calm down, idiot, we're in a baby store." Gray snapped, wishing he could kick Natsu's ass, at that exact moment.

"ARGH!" Natsu kicked a model stroller in frustration, causing it to fly down aisle four and almost hit a heavily pregnant woman. She turned and shot a death glare at Natsu who raised a hand in apology. "S-Sorry, ma'am." It seemed more and more women were obtaining Erza's scariness these days...

"Dumb ass." Gray said as he examined a rattle. "I don't get how this entertains kids..." He said, shaking it. A baby in a stroller down the aisle heard it and started to squeal happily. "...Wierd."

"Juvia has got formula and bottles!" The water mage announced, as she popped out of aisle three and ran to Gray. "Here Gray-sama!"

"Okay. Now what's next?"

"Clothes." So they walked over to a large display of clothes, carrying Yōsei. "Um... How much do we get him?"

"I dunno."

"Here! Here!" Happy exclaimed as he dropped a piece of clothing over their heads. They tried it on him and glared at Happy who was cracking up.

"No dresses!" Natsu yelled as he held up Yōsei, who was wearing a frilly blue dress. If Elfman could see this... He shuddered.

"Pfft!"

"Hey, are you guys done?" Cana asked, as she and Laxus walked around the corner, arms full of baby supplies.

"We just need clothes." Juvia replied, examining a pair of small blue overalls.

"Okay, we'll help." Laxus replied, not wanting to be seen in here any longer than nessacary.

Fifteen minutes later they stood in the checkout line, with people shooting them strange glances.

"Um, hello." The checkout girl greeted the odd group. "I hope you found everything... satisfactory?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah... Let's just hurry up and check out." Cana said as she shoved blankets, towels, and other things onto the checkout counter. The girl nodded and started scanning.

"That's a cute baby you've got." She said, glancing up. "Is it your baby?" She asked, pointing to Juvia and Gray. Gray shook his head. Juvia just stared at the girl, in her own little world.

_"Juvia, darling, little Gray Jr. is getting cold!" Gray exclaimed dramatically as he, Juvia, and Gray Jr (apparently) were walking through a snowy park._

_"Oh dear! Wait, Juvia knows... Family hug!" Juvia exclaimed hugging Gray and a small baby. _

_"Oh Juvia you're so smart and beautiful..." _

_"G-Gray-sama..." Juvia blushed._

"Oh... Gray-sama!" Juvia blushed and could barely contain the urge to go all out fangirl. Gray stared at her in confusion while Laxus, Happy, Natsu, and Cana sweatdropped.

"Okay then, your total would be nine hundred, eighty four jewels." The girl said, bagging the last item.

"WHAT?" Did they have that kind of money? How much crap did they buy? Laxus examined the pile: three blankets, four bottles, two towels, seven outfits, three pairs of baby socks, a pair of baby shoes, a baby carrier, formula, pajamas, a stuffed animal, and another box of diapers.

"Er, one moment." Laxus said, as they formed a group huddle.

"What do we do? Master only gave us four hundred."

"Run for it!"

"Shut up Natsu. We can't do that, they'll know we're from Fairy Tail, Laxus has a big-ass picture of our symbol on his cape."

"Well, I didn't think we'd have to run!"

"Um excuse me?" The girl from the counter called. "Do you have a store account? If you don't you can get one right now." Seeing she wasn't making an impact. "You'll get a discount."

"Sign us up!" They yelled. Ten minutes later they walked out holding a shiny baby blue and light pink card in their hand, registered under the name of Makarov Dreyar.

"Man it was a good think Laxus knew Master's bank account number! The discount wasn't that big enough to pay all that off." Natsu told Lucy an hour later. Makarov stared at his grandson in disbelief as he overheard the conversation.

"LAXUS!"

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><p>So the votes came in five to three in favor of a boy and there's another poll on my page which relates to this story. Sorry I took so long to update. Was it worth the wait? I hope so, I worked really hard on it.<p>

Ok so here's how I got Yōsei's name. I typed in Found Fairy in google translate and here's what I came up with: **Mitsu**katta **yōsei**


	3. To the 'Doctor'

**Hello and welcome to chapter 3! Ta-da! Also there is a poll on my page! At first it may seem like it won't relate but it will in chapter five or six. Probably five. Sorry if this is shorter than usual. Wait! I don't own Fairy Tail.**

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><p>"Aww!" Just about every girl in Fairy Tail was swarmed around Yōsei as they put him into some of the various outfits picked out for him.<p>

"Guh buh buh." He babbled happily clapping his hands. "Da buh!"

"He is too cute!" Lisanna gushed as she stared at the cherubic baby.

"Ooh! Can you say Juvia?" Juvia pleaded the baby as she leaned towards him.

"Ju!" He gurbled happily grabbing for her nose.

"Haha, I think he's still a little too young for words!" Levy chuckled.

"Achoo!" Yōsei sneezed and made an adorable face causing many to giggle.

"Wait..." Erza said, frowning. "Do we know if he's had all his shots and stuff? If he was just dropped here he could have been born without anybody's knowledge and just dumped here."

"Uhh." Everybody blanked out and stared at Erza.

"Where do we take him?" Levy asked, picking Yōsei up off the table. Who knew how many germs could be there? She didn't want him to catch anything life threatening.

"Let's try Porlyusica!" Laki suggested, causing some unease. Everybody knew Polyusica wasn't exactly fond of humans, despite being one herself.

"Alright!" Wendy chirped happily, knowing that Porlyusica may hate humans but she was the Edolas version of Grandeeney.

"Who should take him? I don't really trust any of the boys..." Lucy said as she glanced at Natsu who was challenging Laxus and Gajeel to a fight.

"Well, who wants to go?" Levy asked as everybody immediatley raised their hands high in the air.

"Oh dear..."

"Nose goes!" Evergreen suddenly yelled causing a flurry of nose touching. "Hm, looks like our top four were: Erza, Lucy, Juvia, and Lisanna."

"Awww." The rest groaned as the four girls grinned in triumph.

"Who knows the way, there?" Lucy asked, looking at the other three. Juvia and Lisanna shook their heads.

"Don't worry, I do." Erza assured them, causing a sigh of relief. Getting lost in a forest with a baby would not be a good idea.

"Alright, let's get going then!" Lisanna chirped, picking up Yōsei and starting towards the guild doors. "Erza, if you could lead the way?"

"Of course." Erza smirked, leading the others out of the guild and towards the forest where Polyusica lived. As they got deeper and deeper they started to wonder if Erza knew where she was going until... "Here we are!"

They had stopped in front of a building that looked like it had combined itself with a tree.

"You humans! What are you doing here? Oh, it's you Fairy Tail bunch..." Polyusica squinted at them. "I assume your here for something."

"Well yes." Lisanna answered, earning a cross look from the healer.

"Very well, what-" Her eyes widened at the sight of the child. "Where did you get that child?"

"Oh he was left on our doorstep." Lucy said quickly, before any of them were accused of being a teen mom. "I can't believe somebody would abandon such a sweetheart."

"Yes, yes. What do you want me to do with it? Just because my counterpart here raised your air dragonslayer does not mean I will raise this child."

"No, we're not asking you to, just give him a check up?" Erza asked, seeing the expression on Polyusica's face she added, "Please?"

"Fine." She said, taking the child and eying him up with a look none of the girls could place.

**... **

Back at the guild Makarov stepped out of his office and whistled, grabbing the guild's attention.

"What is it Old Man?" Laxus asked.

"I've gotten a reply back from the council. We are allowed to take care of the child... On one condition."

"What?" Gray asked.

"We search for his mother so she can be pressed for abandonment. Apparently they can't spare any of their dogs, er, soldiers so they're dumping it on us." Makarov said gravely. "We help them and what do they care if the child is raised here as long as they can say they got a bad person off the streets? If we can't find her, we may not be able to keep Yosei. It's a kind of scratch our back we'll scratch yours."

A murmur ran through the crowd. Could they bring the woman to 'justice'? It was just a woman, not a S-Class mage of a dark guild, that they knew of. How hard could it be to find this woman?

"ALRIGHT!" Natsu roared. "MAN HUNT! I mean... WOMAN HUNT!"

"That just sounds creepy, flame brain." Gray said, rolling his eyes. Natsu glared at him.

"Fine, let's go! Happy, Gajeel, Laxus, and Elfman come with me!" Natsu said. All the named, other than Happy, just stared at him in annoyance and disbelief. "Gray, take Fried, Bixlow, Jet, and Droy! I'd like to see how far you get!

"Go yourself." They answered.

"Let's wait til the girls get back so we can ask around with the kid." Gajeel suggested.

"Fine!" He said storming out with Happy at his side... They was back in less than an hour.

"I... Don't know how to look for her." He admitted, sitting down at the bar.

"Hm." The majority of the guild sighed, unsurprised.

**... **

"So how's Yōsei looking?" Lucy asked as the girls hovered around him and Polyusica.

"Stop crowding me!" Polyusica snapped, causing the four to quickly back up. "So far he looks fine. He has all his vaccines and medicines that all newborns require."

"So do you know how old he is?" Juvia asked.

"Yes, a few months." Polyusica said, her voice softer than usual. She looked at Yōsei with almost a familiar air.

"Is something wrong?" Erza asked.

"It's just..."

"What is it?" Lucy asked, panicking.

"Is something wrong?" Lisanna asked.

"Yes and no..." The healer muttered as she held Yōsei. "I've seen this child before."

"What! Where?" Erza demanded an answer.

Polyusica whipped around to face her, her aged face very serious. "I helped his mother through her labor and delivered him."


	4. The Search Begins!

**Okay guys, I hope I did better with this chapter but I guess you'll be the ones to judge. Also thank you to all my reviewers, I really appreciate the feedback. Sorry I took so long to get this up, I hope it makes up for the wait.**

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><p>"Wait! Porlyusica, did you just say you helped deliver Yōsei?"<p>

"Yes, I did." She said, rubbing her temples. "Now that you know the child is healthy and all why don't you run back to Fairy Tail, yes?"

"You can't just tell us that and expect to leave like that!"

"I owe you nothing, it is you who owes me."

"Tell us what you know!" Erza demanded, her hand on the hilt of her sword. Porlyusica glanced warily at the girls before mumbling about damned humans and their stupid ways.

"Fine, fine, I was in my study a few months ago when I heard a knock on the door. A young woman was there, she was heavily pregnant and soaked to the bone due to the storm outside. I reluctantly took her in so she didn't catch a cold in her fragile condition. She was silent and very exhausted, quite rude to be honest, not even a thank you. After about an hour she started to gasp and started to cry in pain, she went into labor and three hours later I delivered her a son."

"And...?" Lisanna prodded only to be shushed by Lucy and Juvia.

"She left the next morning without so much as a thank you." Porlyusica sniffed unapprovingly, turning to rearrange some jars of who knows what on the shelves.

"And you didn't catch anything? Not even a name?" Erza was shocked that Porlyusica could shorten something like that so much.

"No." Porlyusica paused and thought for a moment. "She kept repeating one thing to me while she was in labor."

"What was it?"

"She said, quote, 'This child, I'm going to make sure he's nothing like father or him. I swear on it, I swear!' She was quite strange and it gave me a headache."

"What... What could that mean?" Lisanna asked, looking quite puzzled.

"Daddy issues." Lucy muttered, knowing the feeling.

"Can you give us a description?" Erza demanded.

"Young girl, twenties, wavy blonde hair. About your height." She said, gesturing to Juvia. "She could be anywhere by now, I think your efforts are fruitless at this point."

"We'll see." Erza said, standing up. As the girls headed for the door they murmured thanks and were gone.

"Honestly, humans."

...

Back at the guild everybody was restless for the girls and Yōsei's return.

"Hey, guys we're back!" Lucy chimed halfheartedly as she walked through the doors of the guild. Immediately she was bombarded with shouts and yells of the whole guild. "Eh!"

"Quiet!" Makarov shouted, using his magic to grow ten times larger than he actually was. "What did Porlyusica say?"

"He's healthy." Lisanna stated.

"Well that's a relief." Makarov said, ready to decree the search for the mother when Juvia dropped the bombshell.

"But she also said she knew Yōsei's mother." Juvia said, unsure of how to break it to everyone, "and helped deliver him."

"What!"

"Yes."

"Well that's great, let's go!" Natsu roared, grabbing Yōsei and running for the guild door, Happy by his side. "What'd she look like? What's her name?"

"Erm... twenties, blonde-Wait Natsu! Where're you going?" Lisanna yelled, panicking. Who knows what that guy would do with a talking cat, a baby, and fire magic?

"Finding his mom! Duh!"

"Uh..."

"Dammit, come back here Fire Dumbass!" Gray shouted, running after Natsu and pulling him back into the guild. "Listen you idiot, we have to have a plan! We can't just go around and asking 'Do you know this child's mother? He was abandoned.'"

"Sure we can."

"Natsu!"

"Well what other options do we have?"

"Well..." Everybody was deep in thought, now that they gave it some thought, Natsu was right.

"Hey Reedus could you make posters?" Levy asked, as an idea dawned on her.

"Oui! Let me just examine the bebe!" The drawing mage studied Yōsei for a few moments before doodling away on his drawing pad.

"Okay, let's split into groups." Makarov said. "Who wants to go?" Half the guild raised their hands. "Okay then! You... you, you, you... You three there. Oh and you over there. And um, that group there..."

"Okay, get in groups! Except you guys!" He said, eyeing Team Natsu. "You guys, split up, please." He didn't need half the town in shambles because of their antics. There was much arguing, fighting, and even a little hair-pulling before the groups were finally settled.

"Okay, Natsu, Happy, Wendy, Lucy, and Charle will go Downtown. Erza, Gray, Levy, Cana, and Romeo will go Uptown. Gajeel, Pantherlily, Laxus, Bixlow, and Mirajane take the Town Square. Everybody else, pair up and walk through the marketplace."

An hour later, all the teams were properly dispersed, carrying flyers and asking around.

"Do you this baby?" Natsu called, as Happy carried him above the crowds he dropped some flyers here and there. Charle, Wendy, and Lucy stayed behind in the crowd, waiting for the people to answer and apologizing.

"Natsu!" Lucy bellowed, agitated, "Slow down!"

"Hey, Miss?" A girl, about eight years old, pulled on Lucy's sleeve.

"Yes sweetie?" Lucy asked politely, expecting another question about the guild from a curious child.

"I know that baby!" She exclaimed, smiling brightly.

"Really! You're sure?" Lucy beckoned Charle and Wendy over.

"Yeah, him and his mommy used to live in the apartment across from me. She let me hold him once!" The girl seemed to brim with pride at that statement.

"Do they still live across from you?"

"No." She hung her head sadly and twiddled her thumbs. "They were what my daddy called evica-, no, ev-evicted?"

"Do you know where she went?" Lucy added money problems to the list of the mystery woman's problems.

"No." The girl shook her head. "But she worked at a restaurant. I went there once. It was really good."

"Where?"

"Um, somewhere over there." The girl gestured to a line of food shops and restaurants, all competing for costumers. There must have been ten different restaurants.

"Do remember which one?" Lucy asked frantically, as if she would disappear any minute.

"I think it was-"

"Cecilia! Don't you go wandering off by yourself!" A woman grabbed the girl's wrist and pulled her away. "I'm sorry if my daughter bothered you!" The woman called, while scolding her daughter.

"Gah..." Lucy's eye twitched, they were so close.

"Charle, can you go tell Happy and Natsu?" Wendy asked. "I'm sure they'd like to know. After all they could probably get in and out of all the places real fast with their, er, enthusiasm?"

"Of course, I'll be back in a minute." Charle said somewhat pompously, flying after a trail of flyers, no doubt left by Natsu and Happy.

"Okay, Wendy, let's start searching..." Lucy looked at the first restaurant, it was one of those bars where you could expect to get punched if you looked at somebody the wrong way. "Eh! Next one! Next one!" The next one was a quaint little cafe, that served mostly desserts and little sandwiches by the looks of it. "Okay, we'll look in here first."

"Good idea." Wendy said, as they walked towards the cafe.

"Hello, Mistresses!" Somebody at the front of the cafe greeted the two girls. Lucy and Wendy stared at each other, slightly horrified. A girl in her late teens stood there in a maid uniform and holding a platter. Lucy could very well inference that they had just walked into a maid cafe.

"Uh..." Lucy mentally slapped herself, this was so weird. "Can we ask some questions?" Lucy reached for the flyer in her belt.

"Listen," the girl's face had dropped the cheerful smile as she noticed the flyer, "if you want to apply, go to the manager's office. It may not apply to you but I have to work to earn money. It's the second door to the right back there." She opened her mouth as if to say more but was stopped by somebody who was waving her down for their bill. "Coming Master!" She plastered a smile on her face and trounced off.

"What just happened Lucy?" Wendy asked, still looking very shocked.

"I'm not sure myself but I think we just got told off by a maid." Lucy shook her head and looked up with a determined face. "Let's go ask the manager, maybe they'll be able to help!" Lucy cautiously walked through the cafe with Wendy trailing behind her. When they reached the door Lucy knocked on it, hoping for somebody a little more cooperative than the girl.

"Come in~!" Came a cheerful voice. Lucy hesitantly opened the door only to come face to face with a cheery woman in her mid-thirties, sitting at a desk.

"Hi... Could we ask some questions?"

...

"Hey! That's them!" Natsu yelled as he, Happy, and Charle returned to the storefront. He pointed at the window of a cafe that showed Lucy, Wendy, and a girl talking. "Let's go!"

"Natsu, wait!" Happy yelled as Natsu tactlessly ran into the cafe about a minute after Lucy and Wendy.

"We should follow him, he-cat." Charle sniffed disapprovingly of Natsu's rashness. They two exceeds attempted to walk in after him only to be stopped by a girl in a maid costume.

"Oh! Silly kitties!" The girl giggled, picking both of them up by the scruff of their necks. "Sorry kitties, you're not allowed to be in here." She looked at Charle and Happy. "Aww how cute! You're wearing a little outfit!" She cooed to Charle who looked ready to kill the girl. The girl set them outside of the shop and patted their heads. "It you guys are still here, I'll bring you some milk later!"

"Bye bye!" She said and slammed the door in their face. Happy looked at Charle who was fuming silently, unhappy for being talked down to.

"Hey Charle if we can't go in any stores, let's go find the others, so they can!" Happy suggested, hoping she wouldn't snap at him.

"That's..." she paused, "a good idea. Let's go." Happy could only grin stupidly, rejoicing that she praised him. Charle sighed, he could be such an airhead. "Come on!"

"Aye!" Happy looked down at the cafe and could only pray Natsu didn't do anything stupid. He wouldn't get his hopes up though.


	5. Maids and Thugs

**I know, I know, I haven't updated in forever. Life's been... meh. For the last few weeks school and lacrosse have dominated my life but with all that ending soon, for the summer at least, I'll soon have more time to write (hopefully) so here it is... Chapter five!**

"Questions...? Sure I can help you! Oh! By the way, I'm Hazel. Do you want to apply for a job? I'm afraid your little sister can't but you certainly can." The woman gestured to Wendy.

"Oh! No, no, no! We were just wondering if you've ever saw anyone who might've been related to this baby!" Lucy held out a picture for Hazel to see. Hazel squinted at it for a moment before rummaging around in her desk. She pulled out a pair of glasses and rested them on her face.

"Hmm, I don't believe so. May I ask you why you're asking around?" She studied the picture.

"Oh, well we found him abandoned..." Wendy explained, biting her lip as she hoped that she would remember something.

"Oh dear, I guess that's a very good reason!"

"Do any of your employees have children?" Wendy asked.

"No, only Jenny but she has a daughter and her daughter has blonde hair, not brown."

"Oh, okay..."

"Hmm, this child looks slightly familiar... His eyes..." Hazel squinted even harder. "I... Wait! I know where I've saw those eyes before!"

"Really? Where!" Lucy half asked, half demanded in excitement.

"Well, a few months ago a young woman came here looking for a job. Unfortunately we didn't have any positions open at the time so we had to turn her down. I do remember I complimented her on her eyes, they were so vividly blue I thought she was wearing contacts."

"Did she say anything to you?"

"She thanked me and asked if any other places on the strip were hiring. I told her that the tavern next door and the fast food place down the street. I warned her against the tavern... There's a lot of unsavory characters around there. I do hope she took my advice." Hazel bit her lip, worrying.

"Okay, thank you!" Lucy and Wendy sang, thankful to be one step closer.

"No, thank you. I really hope you find her girls. Good luck!"

"Okay so hopefully we can get Natsu to look in the tavern or maybe Gajeel. You know Laxus may-Natsu! What the...!" Lucy gasped as she walked out of the office, Wendy could only stare.

"What?" Natsu was dressed in his usual outfit, other than the fact that the 'workers' had apparently dressed him up for fun, setting a pair of rabbit ears on his head and even face painting whiskers on his face. Three girls stood around him, giggling and holding some facepaint. "They said it was the theme for today. What's wrong with rabbits? They didn't have dragon stuff so I figured that since you always wear bunny ears and stuff there had to be something cool about it." The girls laughed at this.

"Gah..." Lucy clenched her fists and looked ready to murder him. "Natsu, you know where we are right?"

"Lucy... It's obvious these people are some type of animal-worshipping culture. Don't be disrespectful in their presence." Natsu said with a serious face.

"Natsu, this is a maid cafe, not some weird chapel, and we are leaving."

"Aw, but they said they'd bring these tiny little cakes that look really good and-"

"Natsu..." Lucy warned with a threatening glare which would have made Erza proud, causing him to shut up.

"A-Aye!" Natsu's inner Happy exclaimed.

"Aww, you're leaving already?" One of the girls asked with a fake pout.

"Come again soon!"

"Okay!"

"Natsu!"

"S-Sorry, coming Lucy!"

The three girls watched as the three walked out, Lucy scolding Natsu who still had his bunny ears on. "Wow, he is so whipped." One girl giggled as she turned to go back to her work.

"Extremely." The other two agreed as they settled back into their normal routine.

Outside, Lucy, Natsu, and Wendy reunited with Charle and Happy who had brought back a few people to help in search.

"We have to hurry, apparently a lot of shifts end around this time." Lucy said. "Who wants to go look in the tavern?"

"I'll do it!" Mirajane, Gajeel, and Natsu said at the same time.

"No, not you." Gajeel said to Natsu, rolling his eyes at his appearance. "They'd try to beat you up if you walked in there looking like that."

"But-!"

"No means no Natsu." Erza said, walking up behind the now quivering boy. "I'll go instead."

"Alright, it's settled!" Gajeel said with a grin, "we'll take this from here."

"Wendy, Gray, and I will go to the fast food place then. Happy and Charle split up!"

"We were never together to begin with." Charle sniffed with an air of disdain, causing the group to wince at Happy's heartbroken expression. "I'll go with Wendy, he-cat go with the other group."

"What about me?" Natsu whined.

"Go wash off that facepaint, you look like an idiot." Gray said with a smirk as he stared at Natsu's ridiculous getup.

"Hey! I'd rather look like this than look like you any day!" Natsu retorted.

"Watch it!" Gray growled, knocking foreheads with Natsu as they glared furiously at each other.

"Gray! Natsu! Cut it out!" Erza commanded, her voice full of authority. "Gray's right Natsu, go clean up, you look ridiculous. Come on guys. Let's go."

"Dang it..." Natsu said dejectedly as he walked back towards the guild, he looked back at his guildmates' retreating figures and saw Gray turn around and grin evilly at him.

"Argh!" Natsu roared, about to go on a rampage, when he suddenly had an idea.

...

Whispers filled the bar the three mages walked in. It wasn't often that the bar had people visited who weren't shady other than the occasional lost tourist.

"Hey there gorgeous." One man whistled to Mirajane. Mirajane stopped and turned around, using her shapeshifting magic to turn the whites of her eyes black and the pupils yellow, giving her the appearance of, well, a demon.

"Hi." She said in the sickly-sweet tone causing the man to jump back in surprise. Gajeel rolled his eyes and Erza just stood stoically as the whole bar stared at them.

"Whaddya want?" The bartender growled, slamming down a mug on the counter and sliding it down to some cloaked individual.

"We're looking for a woman."

"Aren't we all?" The man chuckled darkly.

"Have you recently employed any women to work here? We're looking for a lady with blonde hair and blue eyes. Had a kid."

"Don't gotta tell you anything. Maybe one of these ladies can convince me though..."

"Oh, I'll gladly convince you." Erza growled, drawing her sword and pressing it to his throat. "I can convince you better if you want. I have so many more swords to convince you."

"Aye! Erza-san will chop you into pieces!" Happy said in a cheery voice. The whole bar stared at the not-unnoticed-anymore Exceed with wide eyes.

"Alright, alright!" The man grumbled and Erza withdrew her sword. "Mages have no sense of humor."

"Pretty dark humor, wouldn't you say?" Mirajane asked with a frown.

"Listen, buddy, we haven't been able to hire any broads stupid or desperate enough to work here." He grumbled, scratching his head. "There has been one lady who comes around here lately, she matches your description."

"Does she say anything?" Erza questioned.

"Nah, just orders a drink and broods there. Sometimes I think she cries but I can't tell 'cause she'll pull up the hood of her cloak."

"She never says a name or mentioned anything about a child?"

"No! Do I have to say it again? Now why don't you just leave!"

"Hey, we do what we want to do you useless-" Gajeel started to threaten when a shout was heard from the streets, a very familiar shout.

"Get her!"

"Lucy?"

"Blondie?"

The three rushed out of the bar to see Lucy, Gray, Wendy, and Charle chasing after a woman dressed in a dark blue travelling cloak. She had a look of terror and guilt on her face and was sprinting like there was no tomorrow which was possible when you had a horde of Fairy Tail mages chasing you.

"Quick! Get her!"

...

"Ha! Thought you could ditch me, huh guys? Well, I'm here now!" Natsu roared, jumping into the bar, bunny ears and all only to realize that Gajeel, Mira, and Erza had already ran out. Now there was a whole bunch of creepy and dangerous looking people staring incredulously at him.

"Uh oh."


	6. The Capture

**Hey guys! Update time! The next chapter should be coming pretty fast since I only have to tweak and edit it. Only a few more chapters until your votes from your polls take affect. I realize that it may take a while but I hope you can all bear with me while I try to write upthe next few chapters! **

**Also thank you for all the awesome reviews! I hope you enjoy this chapter. Hint: It's a bit of a cliffhanger. Maybe a lot... You'll have to find out!**

* * *

><p>"Happy! Pick me up!" Erza commanded as the six mages chased the mystery woman through the streets.<p>

"Aye!" The Exceed said, picking her up and flying her high above the ground, her feet narrowly missing civilians' heads or sometimes she sent an accidental kick to the unsuspecting taller-than-average person.

"Now fly me directly over the suspect!"

Happy who did not fare well in arguments with Erza did as he was told, although he had a bad feeling about the outcome. "Aye, I think I'm about directly over her. Should I swoop down? Erza-san? Er- WHAT!"

Erza let go of Happy's paws and gracefully flew down towards the woman. She saw the woman turn around in fear and watched as her eyes widened and then-BAM! She hit her mark.

The woman hit the ground with a loud thud and lay there, most likely unconscious.

"Erza!" Gray called, running up to the scene, pushing worried and curious onlookers away. "Good job!"

"What did you do to that poor girl?" One man yelled angrily. Other onlookers murmured angrily in agreement.

"Um... She's from a dark guild." Gray lied, picking the cloaked woman up and throwing her over his shoulder. "We're going to turn her into the authorities." With that he turned and scurried away towards somewhere more private, the others following close behind.

"Not very creative, Gray." Happy said disappointedly. "But better than Lucy could have thought up."

"Shut up, stupid cat!" Lucy growled as they turned down an alleyway, she then observed her surroundings and turned to Gray. "Gray could you choose a more suspicious place? I mean, people will think we're trying to mug her or rape her or something!"

"I think we should make sure she's the one before going to Master. It wouldn't be good if we turned some random woman in." Mira looked at the woman, still knocked out cold. "Say, what happened with you guys while you were in the fast food place?"

__Flashback__

_Ding-dong! rang the little bell on the door as the three mages and exceed strode through the door. The restaurant had seen better days, the vinyl coverings on the booths were starting to rip or wear. The bright yellow walls made the place seem overly cheery and floor didn't look as though it'd been cleaned in years. Lucy silently wondered how it stayed in business._

_Two girls behind the counter looked up and plastered on a fake smile._

_"Welcome. How can I help you?" One of them asked tiredly while the other retreated to the back to check on food._

_"Do you think we could ask you some questions?" Gray asked, reaching for his pocket to pull out a flyer, only to realize he had no pants or shirt on. "When the-!"_

_"Sir, no shirt, no service." The girl said, observing him up and down as if she wished she didn't have to say that._

_"Dang it!" Gray yelled as he stalked outside to look for his missing clothing. "It always happens! Always!"_

_"Heh heh, sorry about that." Lucy apologized sheepishly, taking a flyer out of her own pocket and presenting it to the girl. "But do you recognize this baby?"_

_The girl glanced at the flyer. "Looks familiarbut a lot of families pass by here, so don't get your hopes up." She turned around and called to the girl in the back. "Hey, come here! Does this kid look familiar?"_

_"What do you mean-?" The girl walked back up and stared at the poster with eyes as wide as saucers. "I... I..." Her eyes started to water and tears streamed down her cheeks. Wendy and Lucy looked at each other wondering what was happening and Charle just sniffed at the public display of shame. Lucy grabbed a napkin from a napkin dispenser on a nearby table and handed it to her._

_"Thank you..." She whispered, burying her face into the tissue, where none of them could get a good look of her face. "It's just... just..."_

_"It's okay." Lucy comforted, turning to grab another napkin, not noticing as the other girl took a cloak from a hanger near the door and hung it around the sobbing girl's shoulders._

_"There, there." She soothed, rubbing her back. "What's the matter, Ma-? Hey! Where are you going!"_

_"I'm so sorry!" She wailed as she bolted towards the door, catching the mages by surprise._

_"Hey! Gray! Stop her!" Lucy hollered. "Stop her!"_

"And that's what happened."

"Well, that was easy for you." Gajeel scoffed. "That damn bartender was pissing me off-"

"Gajeel, this is not time for you to get angry. We have to wake her up and get a confession." Mirajane said softly, as she looked at the unconscious body. "This isn't a woman, she barely looks older than us, if not younger."

"I thought Porlyusica said she looked like she was in her twenties..." Lucy said, looking confused.

"She's rarely around humans, she could make mistakes." Gray pointed out.

"Ugh... My head." The girl moved and groaned. "What? What happened?"

"Here, let me help you." Mira helped the girl sit up as she looked around and rubbed her head.

"Don't be so nice, Mira. This lady could have abandoned a helpless baby." Gray growled, arms crossed as he towered over Mira and the girl.

"What's your name?" Mirajane asked softly as she examined her head for any wounds.

"M-Marissa." Gray looked suspiciously at the girl. He supposed she would be considered pretty, but he wasn't much for that type of stuff. She had wavy blonde hair, pinned up in a bun with a plastic flower hairclip. She wore little makeup but the little she had was smudged and ran down her cheeks in dark rivers. Her blue eyes still glistened with tears. She couldn't have been older than eight-teen. "Please. Don't hurt me."

"Is this your brat?" Gajeel asked, holding up the flyer. Lucy elbowed Gajeel in the ribs. "Ow! Damn, sorry. Is this your kid?"

"Yeah. That's my baby." She whispered, deciding that lying would get her nowhere but perhaps the hospital or worse, especially around Fairy Tail mages. "Oh!" She started crying again at the sight of her child. "K-Kristopher!" She sobbed.

"Kristopher?" The confused mages shot each other glances before Marissa spoke up.

"Kristopher is his name." She whispered bitterly. "My little Kris..."

"Well, not anymore." Erza said harshly, causing her to flinch. "He's not your baby anymore."

"Please, we just want to know why you would abandon such a sweet child." Lucy said, crouching down and placing her hand on her shoulder. "That's all we want."

"Lucy?"

"Ye- Wait, how do you know my name?" Lucy asked, puzzled.

"It's been eight whole years since I've seen you, Lucy Heartfilia. It's not a surprise you wouldn't recognize me, I suppose."


	7. Her Story

**A/N: Hey there... So I know I promised you a quick update but I didn't like the way it turned it out so I tried rewriting some parts and switching things around so here we are! I'm still not 100% sure but I really hope you like it.**

"It's been eight whole years since I've seen you, Lucy Heartfilia. It's not a surprise you wouldn't recognize me, I suppose."

"How do you know my name?" Lucy asked, looking at Marissa with wide eyes. "Who are you?" She raked her mind over until she recalled the name. But it couldn't be. The only Marissa she knew was supposed to be only ten years old when she disappeared on Tenrou Island. But that meant... She'd be seventeen now.

"How do you know Lucy?" Charle demanded.

"I suppose it's not much of a surpise you don't remember me. I guess I've grown up a bit." Marissa repeated as if in awe of meeting this group of people.

"Marissa." Lucy repeated her name in disbelief, as she remembered a time right before she ran from home.

_"Lucy, go outside with the other children." Jude Heartphilia commanded as he stood outside of a meeting room as CEOs and other important figures. The look on his face told her he did not want to deal with his slightly rebellious sixteen year old daughter._

_"Very well." Lucy said, stewing on the inside. She turned around quickly, her skirts swishing around as she briskly walked towards the garden where the children would usually be ushered. Many of them were spoiled brats that Lucy could barely tolerate, which explained the novel tucked under her arm._

_She located the nearest bench, marble, not very comfortable but she knew it was placed there more for beauty than comfort. She started to crack the book open when a group of rowdy children ran by giggling and screeching, one knocking her book out of her hands._

_"Hey! Watch it!" Lucy yelled, waving her fist in the air angrily. She had have a mind to pul Aquarius out on them but she didn't want to suffer either._

_"Here, you dropped it." A small pair of hands were holding her novel delicately as though it were a precious treasure._

_"Oh, thank you Marissa." Lucy took the book out of her hands and looked at her. Marissa Brandt was the only daughter of a rich broker who lived in a rather secluded, old-fashioned village deep in the mountains. Lucy knew their fathers were curently making some sort of big deal so they'd probably see a lot of each other if the deal went through. Thankfully for Lucy Marissa was one of the few children she could tolerate._

_Marissa just smiled and brushed some of her fair blonde hair back. She too was dressed in a heavy dress, her hair tied up in ribbons. She looked very much like a delicate porecelin doll. "May I sit next to you?"_

_"Of course." Lucy said, patting the empty space next to her. Marissa sat down, looking around the gardens in wonder._

_"Lucy, you're lucky." Marissa said in a hushed whisper. "Mother and Father rarely give me this much freedom. I want to be able to walk around the village or the gardens without an attendant."_

_Lucy could only imagine how terrible it would be to think she had freedom. "Well I did hear that they're building a guild near your village." Lucy noted changing the subject._

_"Really?" Marissa's eyes lit up. "I wish I had magic like you." She paused. "But its okay. Lucy if you ever get into a guild, tell me? Just write a letter, a note."_

_"Sure." Lucy said smiling, patting her head. "For now, lets take a walk around the garden."_

"Lucy?" Erza asked, shaking the blonde slightly. Lucy shook her head and looked Marissa in the eye. "Why Marissa? You were always so... so proper and gentle."

"Lucy..." Marissa whimpered, looking at Lucy's crestfallen face. But it was true. Why?

"Why would you abandon this sweet little child!" Lucy practically shouted, fists clenched as she watched Marissa flinch as though she though Lucy would strike her.

"It... It was so hard." Marissa started to sob. "Raising a child. All by myself."

"You should have thought of that before messing around." Gajeel said coldly, assuming she didn't even know who the father was.

"Marissa what about your parents?" Lucy demanded.

"I was disinherited when they found out." Marissa explained sadly, looking down at her lap. "My mother was willing to help me raise the child but father... Well, Mother never disagrees with him, Father said the only way I'd be alllowed to stay was if I... If I got rid of him. Made sure he never happened."

The mages' faces darkened considerably. How could somebody be so cold as to demand that their daughter choose between them and her child?

"Why!" Lucy looked shocked. If she remembered one thing about the Brandts, it was that they were convinced nothing was Marissa's fault even if she'd confess to something she'd done wrong.

"Because I went against their wishes in seeing somebody from the local guild." She said, her eyes hardening. "They said he was horrible and he'd only break my heart. They were right."

"That's no reason for abandoning-"

"Lucy! My parents disinherited me! They never let me do anything before that! I was totally unprepared for the real world! And... And despite all his promises of marriage and a happy life, when I told my boyfriend that I was pregnant he told me it wasn't his problem and that he didn't want to see me or his child ever again! I couldn't stay... No I couldn't stay in that forsaken place any longer, they look down upon unwed pregnancies anyway. I'd be branded for life!" Marissa practically screamed before dropping her head in her hands and sobbing.

"Maybe we should leave..." Gray said, gesturing to Gajeel and himself. The two men stood there in obvious discomfort at just witnessing a girl's meltdown. "Crying girls aren't really our strong points-"

"Shut up!" Erza commanded, kneeling down next to the crying girl. "Please, we just want whats best for your son." Lucy looked sadly at the girl. She knew that if they took her back she'd be arrested for abandonment.

"Now... Why don't you give us the rest of the story?" Mira asked softly.

"Ok. I was trying to make it to Magnolia when I got caught in a storm. I found this little house in the forrest. It was a miracle, the lady took me in but she wasn't very happy about it. She was a bit cranky so I didn't say anything. That's where I had Kristopher. He was so beautiful. He was like a little angel. My little angel." Marissa smiled at the thought. "Then I made my way here. I found an apartment. I managed to sell my jewelry and rent an apartment for a few months but then the money ran out. I got a job at the fast food place but..." She breathed in deeply and looked at the girls who all nodded in encouragement.

"I couldn't make enough to take care of Kristopher and myself and rent the apartment at the same time. I had to move to a rather... unsavory neighborhood. I couldn't stand leaving Kris for a minute especially in that place. I could barely afford daycare but we were making it. Then my pay was cut and the crime rate started to increase, not that it ever decreased. I knew I couldn't keep him. But I'd seen him show signs of magic already! I was so happy."

"What kind of magic?" Gajeel cut in.

"I'm not really sure but I knew he had it! That was enough to convince me he couldn't go just anywhere. I saw how children with magic could be bullied." She took a deep breath. "So I gathered up all my courage, took a day off from work. I spent the whole day holding him and watching your guild, I remember Lucy talking about it. Making sure it was... right for Kris."

"And you left him at our doorstep." Mirajane said, completing her sentence.

"Yes. Yes, that's when I abandoned my child."

**Meanwhile at Fairy Tail**

Natsu marched through the doors to the guild, feeling quite dejected. Not only had he been sent away from helping but a whole bar of thugs had jumped him while he was wearing bunny ears. How humiliating.

He had been able to fight off all of the thugs but he looked worse for the wear: clothes torn, bunny ears bent, and face starting to bruise.

"What happened Natsu? You aren't looking very manly!" Elfman boomed as he gestured at Natsu's torn appearance and her slightly ripped bunny ears.

"Three words: Maids, thugs, and mean guildmates!" Lisanna gave a silent chuckle and didn't bother to mention that there actually more than three words. Yosei just watched Natsu curiously from Lisanna's arms.

"That doesn't sound very manly."

"Shut up Elfman!" Natsu growled, trying to wipe some of the facepaint off with the back of his hand.

"Ha!"

"Elfman! I said it wasn't funny! Do you wanna fight?" Natsu yelled angrily.

"Natsu, that wasn't Elf-nii!" Lisanna giggled, holding Yosei up a little higher and showing the smile that spread across his cherubic face.

"Ha!" Yosei repeated, bursting into a fit of giggles afterwards.

"Think that's funny kid?" Natsu asked sauntering over to the giggling baby. Yosei gave him another grin, despite his scary expression. Natsu silently took him from Lisanna's arm.

"Natsu-" Lisanna began in protest but Natsu hushed her.

"This kid..." He said staring down at Yosei, the whole guild had stopped and was watching the two. "I like him!"

"Na! Na! Ha! Ha!" Yosei gurgled, clapping his chubby little hands together. Natsu laughed, his bad mood had evaporated. Immediatley the whole guild grinned and resumed what they were doing.

"Na!" Yosei cooed while looking up at Natsu and tugging on his bunny ear.

"Hear that? He's trying to say my name!" Natsu proclaimed proudly, running everywhere to make sure every person in the guild knew it.

"Honestly..." Makarov said, shaking his head.


	8. And His New Life Begins

"What will you do with me? You have a confession." Marissa looked up at the mages who had stood up and were towering over her threateningly.

"We have to turn you in. Child abandonment isn't something to be taken lightly." Erza said, standing up. The way her hair and skirt blew in the wind and her stony face was enough to strike fear into Marissa's heart. She did not want to suffer the Titania's wrath. "Now come."

"Why? Why did you want to track me down so bad?" Marissa asked, gripping her skirt so hard that her knuckles were paler than paper.

"That was the only way they'd consider let us taking of Y- I mean Kristopher."

"But-!"

"Quiet, I'm afraid it's the only way." Erza said, helping Marissa to her feet and holding her hands behind her back. Although her face appeared stony she did feel bad. "Lucy please go inform Master. Make sure he tells everybody to give us space when we come back."

"Lucy!" Marissa looked to her in distress.

"I'm sorry Marissa." Lucy took a deep breath as though what she would say next bothered her slightly. "You brought this on yourself." She turned on her heel and fled, unable to see Marissa's reaction as she sprinted towards the guild.

Back at the guild Makarov sat on a stool, sipping a drink at the bar, provided by Lisanna who had volunteered to man the bar in her sister's absence. Yosei sat on the counter near Makarov, sipping a bottle. Makarov had volunteered to watch Yosei while Lisanna tried to tend to Bixlow who drank himself silly and was trying to jump off the second floor of the guild.

"Ah these brats..." Makarov said to Yosei who just gurgled in return. "Maybe you'll be one of my brats someday." Yosei giggled and stuck his tongue out. "Maybe you already are." Makarov corrected himself.

"Master!" Makarov turned to see Lucy in the doorway of the guild, looking strangely composed and unruffled.

"Lucy? What is it?" He asked.

"We found her. We found the mother." Lucy said as she approached him, hands behind her back and her face expressionless.

"Good! Very good. Lisanna if you would call the Rune Knights?" Makarov asked. Lisanna nodded and ran to the back room, leaving Bixlow to crash to the floor with a loud bang. "Hear that Yosei? All of Fairy Tail is becoming a mother." Yosei looked at Lucy and gurgled happily.

"I'm not a mama!" Bixlow slurred drunkenly, he was promptly ignored.

"Erza wants to make sure that nobody crowds her and Marissa when they get here."

"Marissa?"

"The mother."

"Ah, well hopefully they won't do that." He paused. "But I know they will, brats. Don't worry, I have an idea. Freed!"

"Yes Master?" The green haired man asked, walking up to him. "How may I assist you?"

"I need a barrier." Makarov said grinning.

When Erza arrived escorting Marissa with the others, Makarov went to greet them. Lisanna stood behind the counter holding Yosei. Marissa's eyes were focused on her. Yosei must have recognized his mother because he starting wiggling and clapping his chubby little hands.

"Kristopher." She whispered in anguish. The whole guild stared at her and started to move in asking questions in raised voices only to be bounced away by Freed's barrier. More angry protests continued. Marissa looked both relieved and scared.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail." Makarov said calmly walking up to her. Marissa watched him warily. "I am Master Makarov."

"Hello." She said softly. "I'm Marissa."

"Now that we have the introductions in place I want to ask you one thing." Makarov looked at her, uncharacteristically serious.

"Y-yes?"

"Why?"

"I had to." Marissa's voice wavered and she started to cry again. Erza stepped in and started to explain.

"Master can we leave!" Gajeel and Gray asked again, seeing that the waterworks were starting to flow.

"No!"

"Argh!" Gray groaned as he threw himself against the barrier.

"Lisanna has already contacted the Rune Knights. For now, we wait."

"Hey!" Natsu jumped up on a table and pointed at the group. "You caught her! Want me to interrogate her?" He cracked his knuckles and grinned. Marissa practically passed out at those words, attaching herself to Erza and hiding behind her.

"No Natsu, and get off the table!" Erza snapped. "And why do you look so ridiculous? Did you get beat up?"

"A-Aye..." Natsu said, scrambling off the table.

"Hey where'd bunny girl go?" Gajeel asked, looking around.

"Lu-chan?" She's right there-" Levy started, turning to where Lucy had been standing and finding it empty. "Where did she go?"

"Lucy..." Marissa murmured, letting go of Erza's armor and staring at Yosei.

Outside Lucy was jogging towards the back of the building, if you looked closely she looked blurry.

"Lucy." Lucy said as she approached what seemed like her double. The second Lucy was sitting down with her back against the brick wall of the guild. "We can't stay like this for much longer, we're sorry."

"It's okay, Gemini." Lucy said in a hushed voice as Gemini turned back into their original forms. "Return..."

"..." Lucy sat there in silence for a few minutes before a cloud of smoke enveloped her and a well-dressed figure emerged.

"Lucy? Lucy what happened? Gemini told me you were upset."

"Loke. Stop coming out on your own." Lucy mumbled, not even lifting her head. She hadn't even the spirit to be mad at Loke. "Just go back. I... I'm fine."

"Liar." Loke said as he kneeled down to Lucy's level. "Tell me what happened and don't lie to me."

"I accidentally hurt and hunted down my..." She stopped. Her what? Her friend? Not really. She didn't even bother to write to her when she promised. Marissa was an acquaintance at the most. A part of her past life that she had forgotten about entirely.

"It's okay. You can cry on my shoulder." Loke said in a slightly flirtatious voice, sitting down next to her.

"Geez, you never listen to me." Lucy said, smiling at him through her tears. Loke gave a short laugh and put his arm around her shoulder causing Lucy to bristle.

"Don't worry, I'm not trying to make a move. I'm a gentleman and gentleman never take advantage of a lady's emotional state." Loke said with a wink. Lucy gave a short laugh, one filled with bitterness.

"I can see you're troubled but you did the right thing. Correct?" Loke asked.

"I... I think so, I mean she did sort of bring it on herself but..."

"But nothing. Being a Fairy Tail mage means doing what you think is right. So as long as you did what you think was right I think everything will turn out all right."

"You can't be sure though."

"Have some faith in yourself." Loke said, flashing her a dazzling smile. "I know you're no dumb blonde. Trust your instincts. Like a lion."

"Geez, you can be really conceded but still... I'm really grateful. Thank you, Loke." Lucy sighed and rested her head against his shoulder. "Don't expect this to happen often."

"Heh." Loke chuckled and watched the clouds as Lucy slowly drifted off. He looked down after a few minutes of silence and saw her face wasn't even peaceful as she slept. _Lucy, you saved my life. But I can't even make you feel better. What a pitiful spirit I am._ He knew she would argue with him and say it wasn't true and he sighed. "Come on, I'm taking you home."

As Loke walked out from behind the guild and started towards Lucy's home he saw something at the main entrance. There some Rune Knights taking away a young blonde girl in handcuffs. Lucy stirred in his arms (he was carrying her bridal style).

"Mm? Loke did I fall asleep?" Lucy mumbled, trying to look around. She was too exhausted to even be surprised that Loke was carrying her.

"Er, don't worry about. Just close your eyes." Loke assured her, making sure she was at an angle where she couldn't see Marissa. "Don't worry." He turned and started for Lucy's house. _I may not be able to erase your pain, but if I can lessen it, I will._

The next morning Lucy awoke to Loke sleeping on the end of her bed like a cat.

"Well, at least it's not Natsu for once." She said softly, rolling over only to come face to face with Natsu and Happy.

Her screams could be heard for miles away.

* * *

><p>Hehehe... Poor Lucy. Everyone ends up in her house, she just can't get a break. What you didn't read was that Gray was on the couch and Erza was raiding her fridge...<p>

I'm so sorry it took so long but from now on the story will be excelerating and focusing on Fairy Tail and their experiences with some of Yosei's major moments in his life. I'm not sure how many chapters this will be but I have lots of ideas.

Hopefully I can update soon but no promises, school and sports are keeping me very busy.


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